WhatsApp to tackle ‘sinister fake messages’ in India
Message forwards will be limited to five chats at a time, whether among individuals or groups, and it would remove the quick forward button
New Delhi — India said Facebook-owned WhatsApp had pledged on Tuesday to develop tools that would combat fake messages, to help the country crack down on people whipping up public anger through mass message forwards on social media. WhatsApp CEO Chris Daniels gave the assurance to India’s IT minister during a meeting in New Delhi. Ravi Shankar Prasad had asked the company to work out ways to trace the origin of "sinister" messages, like those that led to a series of mob beatings across the country this year. "It does not need rocket science to locate a message," Prasad said after his meeting, adding that the US tech giant had agreed to name a grievance officer to deal with issues in India. A Facebook spokesperson in India did not respond to a request for comment. India is WhatsApp’s biggest market with more than 200-million users and one where it says people forward more messages, photographs and videos than any other country. There are also concerns that supporters of political par...
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